About The Visayan Eskrima Guild

The Visayan Eskrima Guild was founded in Oakland, California, in 2008 to further the study of the martial arts of the Visayan island region of the Philippines. The Guild serves as a vehicle whereby the Filipino martial arts can be studied in a supportive atmosphere of mutual respect. Seven gentlemen comprise the Founding Plank Holders of The Visayan Eskrima Guild; we sit on the Board of Directors & Examiners of the organization – our terms are for life. Membership in The Visayan Eskrima Guild is offered by invitation only. It is the mission of The Visayan Eskrima Guild to both preserve and propagate the Filipino martial arts, as well as, those martial arts upon which the Board members were graced with functional knowledge and instructional concepts.The guild format was chosen because it was felt that the vast amount of material, concepts, principles, and techniques left to us, via first-hand interaction and instruction with our teachers, would best be served by not limiting its interpretation any one person’s grasp. This simple realization came about as a direct outgrowth of our many years of friendship, intertwined with informational exchanges and highlighted by numerous protracted training sessions that subsequently lead us all down a path to an agreed upon logical conclusion – in order to do these arts justice (arnis, eskrima, kali) the collective knowledge of the group had to prevail.The Visayan Eskrima Guild was founded to preserve and disseminate the life’s work of two highly respected masters of eskrima: Grandmaster Sonny Umpad and Grandmaster Angel Cabales. Grandmaster Wade Williams and his son, Master Keenan Williams, brought the art of Cabales Serrada Escrima into The Guild. Visayan Style adepts Mike Braten, Steve Magness, Chris Suboreau, Steve Van Manen and George Yore brought the art of Visayan Style Corto Kadena & Larga Mano Eskrima into The Guild. The art established by Grandmaster Angel Cabales: Cabales Serrada Escrima, and the art founded by Grandmaster Sonny Umpad: Visayan Style Corto Kadena & Larga Mano Eskrima did not, per se, exist in the Philippines – both arts were formally begat in America. These two arts comprise our foundation. The ancestral origins of these particular Filipino martial arts systems can be traced to the island of Cebu, part of the Visayan island chain of the Philippines. The two arts exist separately in The Guild. However, the arts share many principles and each is a useful lens through which to view the other. Like a microscope – each art serves as an invaluable tool for dissection, examination and analysis; providing the necessary means to reach true understanding of each art. The teaching of both arts together, side-by-side, leads the student to insights he or she would not receive if the practitioner only trained in one discipline.